Car-coupling



s. B. ZIMMERMAN.

OAIR COUPLING.

No. 298,264. r Patented May 6, 1884.

WIT SES NNNNNN OR 4 ATTO UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL B. ZIMMERMAN, OF HUDSON, MICHIGAN.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,264, dated May 6,1884-.

Application filed March 13, 1884.

To all whom, it mag concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL B. ZIMMER- MAN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Hudson, in the county of Lenawee and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inOar-Couplers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents a vertical sectional View of mycoupler, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

This invention has relation to car-couplings;

and it consists in the construction and' novel arrangement of devices,as hereinafter set forth, and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaim.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A designates the draw-head,which is made of ordinary form, except that in its top is made a largeaperture, 13, the length of which is greater than its breadth. Justunder the forward portion of the top 0 of the draw-head is the pivotedportion D of the drop-catch E, which is bored to receive the transversepivotpin F, the ends of which are seated in bearings G in the side wallsof the draw-head. The drop-catch E is a broad casting having an underprojection, H, the forward edge of which is sloping and the rear edge,Z, of which is abrupt, or nearly at right angles to the plate. Thedrop-catch plate forms a kind of movable top'for the aperture in theupper part of the draw-head. In the floor N of the draw-head is made asmall slot or recess, R, in which the point S of the projection H of thedrop-catch is received when this catch is in its lowest position.

T represents an abutment in the draw-head,

back of the slot or recess It, extending transversely, and adapted toform a guard to prevent the link from slipping too far to the rearinvthe cavity of the draw-head during the coupling operation. Y

To the top of the drop-catch plate is pivoted the vertical shank o ofthe handle Z,

which, when the plate is raised in level position, extends horizontally.When the dropcatch is raised, the distance between the point (No model.)

drop-catch may be sustained by turning the handle crosswise, it beingmade long enough to rest byits ends on the side walls or bearings, a, ofthe draw-head, at the sides of the aperture B. When, however, the handleis turned in the direction of the length of the draw-bar, the. size ofthe aperture from end to end is sufficient to allow the handle to passthrough said aperture and the drop-catch to fall until its projectionengages the slot or recess in the floor of the draw-head. In thisposition the drop-catch is adapted to act automatically in the couplingoperation. When a link is introduced into the mouth of the draw-head andpassed backward therein, as in the act of coupling cars together, thelink will pass under the drop-catch plate and under the sloping forwardedge of its under projection, raising the drop-catch until the end ofthe link has passed beyond the projection, when the drop-catch willfall, its projection engaging the link and holding it securely inposition. \Vhen the drop-catch is in the depressed or coupled position,the handle thereof is completely within the cavity of the drawhead, andis fully protected from injury by the walls thereof. To uncouple, itisonly necessary to raise the drop-catch by means of its handle and turnit transversely, so that the ends of the handle will rest on the sidebearings of the aperture B.

Having described this invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s

In a car-coupling, the draw-head having the elongated aperture B in itstop and slot or re-

